Chapter 4

[Cordelia]

“Drugged the wine? Why would I do that?” His words stab right through my heart. How could he think so poorly of me? 

“After your little sob story about needing an heir, you suddenly end up in my bed?” He barks, harsh laughter springing from his lips. “I’m not a fool, Cordelia. Were you even drunk, or was that an act too?”

“But I didn’t drug you?” I insist, my voice small. “I only had that wine because I took it from your hotel room,” I remind him as I try to remember the day before. 

That’s right, this wine came from his hotel room. The room he was in with his secretary…If anyone drugged this wine it must have been her. She was trying to seduce him!

“Atlas,” I jump out of bed holding his shirt closed, “I just realized something about yesterday. Your secretary had…”

“Save it,” he cuts me off as he moves towards the door. “I don’t know why I keep expecting better from you,” he sighs deeply, looking at me in disappointment. “You’re barely more than a child. I should have known better.”

“Atlas, please wait!”  I call after him, tears rolling down my cheeks. He doesn’t stop. He just walks through the door and shuts it with a resounding slam.

I fall to my knees and weep into my hands. It was my first time making love and I cannot even remember it. 

I just lost my only chance to make things right with Atlas. He is never going to trust me now.

Maybe I should stop trying.

My legs are so stiff from being in the same position for so long that it hurts to unbend my knees. Eventually I make it to standing and stumble down the hallway to my own room. 

I don’t feel quite like myself until I am under the soothing heat of my shower. Between getting caught out in the freezing rain, getting drunk and possibly drugged, and then waking up after my first ever sexual experience, there is no part of me that doesn’t feel tender. 

The water is now ice cold. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t notice the change until I started to shiver and my muscles began to ache anew. 

Stepping out of the shower the world starts spinning. Grabbing onto the towel rack to steady myself, I remember that I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink other than a bottle of wine and a cheap cup of coffee in the last two days. 

No wonder I feel so awful.

Wrapping my hair in a towel, I dry off and put on a loose pair of clean sweats before ringing for the maid. “April, I need your help.”

It takes her several minutes to respond. “Yes?”

“Can you please bring food and water up to my rooms?” I ask sweetly, hoping my kindness might warm her to me. I know she doesn’t like me, but that doesn’t mean I cannot be polite to her. “I never had dinner and…”

“I do not see how your irresponsibility is my concern,” she grumbles, interrupting me. “I have many other chores to attend and so you will need to fetch your own food,” she pauses, adding, “Miss,” at the end as if she had forgotten she was speaking to the lady of the house. 

She hangs up abruptly and I am left staring at the intercom. Sighing deeply, I stand and open the door to my room. 

When I get into the main hallway my head is fuzzy and I am more than a little bit dizzy. Suddenly the stairs seem impossibly far away and I know I need to make it all the way down them to get what I need.  

I make it a few steps before I find myself gasping for air. Stumbling to a nearby sofa, I find myself sinking into the cushions. 

______

“Oh Cordy,” a kind voice says, waking me. I am unable to open my eyes, they feel so heavy. “You have a fever. What did you do to yourself?”

“Who are you?” I barely manage to mumble because my mouth is so dry, “Atlas?”

“Wow, you are really out of it today, aren’t you?” He helps me stand and I finally recognize my savior by his easygoing manner. “Clark? What are you doing here?”

“I just returned from overseas. And since I haven’t seen his stupid face in about 4 years,  I was hoping to find my brother so we could catch up over dinner,” he laughs. “How come you’re sleeping on the couch when you have a perfectly good bed just a few feet away?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “Is it still morning?”

“Dear gods, you’ve been out there all day! And nobody bothered to check on you?”

I try to shake my head in response but I stumble. Seeing me struggle to remain standing, he scoops me into his arms and gently places me in my bed. 

“I needed water,” I am barely able to croak, my lips cracked and parched with dehydration. “And food and...”

“There,” he lays me down, still hovering above me, his kind eye smiling. “That’s better. Now wait here.”

He leaves. I must have fallen asleep again because I didn't see him reenter the room. I watch patiently as he sets down a bowl of soup, a piece of bread, and a large cup of water. 

“Sorry that took so long,” he apologizes, his hand rubbing the back of his neck bashfully.  “I don’t really cook much and I couldn’t find April.”

“It’s fine,” I croak as I bend over to reach the water that is just out of reach.

“Oh God!,” he exclaims. “Shoot, here, let me help you!” He holds the water to my mouth as I take a few sips. The water feels so good going down my parched throat that I moan. 

The door clicks open behind us. 

“Clark!” Atlas barks. “What are you doing in my wife’s room?”